UPDATE: Former Bait Dog, Roo the Resilient, Now Only Knows Love

In October of last year we brought you the story of Roo, a timid, loveable, female, pocket-sized pit bull with a severely disrupted left wrist, and a mauled right leg missing a paw. She was used as a bait dog.

Georgia’s Bureau of Investigation (GBI) rescued the abused pet from a multi-state dog fighting ring and placed her under the care of Friends of Dekalb Animals (FODA).

The sweet dog received the help she desperately needed and her deformed left wrist was straightened through surgery.

Before and after pictures of Roo. Photo Credit: Roo the Resilient/Facebook

“She is doing great on her straight leg,” said Roo’s foster parent Chrissy Kaczynski. “The specialist is very happy about how well the bone fused together in the proper position.”

The former bait dog is not available for adoption yet, since her legal case is still pending, but thanks to FODA, its volunteers, foster parents, and many friends, Roo has learned what it is to be a spoiled and loved house pet.

“She loves squeaky balls the most,” said Kaczynski.

When the former bait dog was first rescued she was underweight and had many scars throughout her body. Today she is at a healthy weight and most of her scars have white flecks of fur. Other scars remain unchanged, as testimony of her tragic past.

Roo’s right leg, the one missing its paw, still needs surgery. Her short leg does not have enough tissue to cushion between the bone and her thin skin and for this reason this leg constantly bleeds.

“The vet feels he can do surgery to improve the cushion and her quality of life,” said Kaczynski.

The plan is to take off a few inches from bone and allow Roo to have more soft tissue between the bone and the skin on the amputated limb.

The cost of the operation is estimated at $1,100 and so far FODA has collected about half of the cost. After the surgery Roo might get fitted with a prosthetic leg, but this will have an additional cost of $1,500.

“The specialist we work with would be able to fit it and help us with getting her used to it,” said Kaczynski. “Right now she seems to be doing well on 3 legs so I am not sure if we will opt for the prosthesis.”

We are glad Roo is enjoying a happier, better life than what she was used to.

Katherine has been a journalist for over ten years. She has a B.A. and a Master Degree in Journalism. She specializes on web content managing, online journalism, web analytics, social media, email marketing, SEO and SEM.

I met sweet Roo the day that center photo was taken. She was so shy but had the most loving and trusting eyes. That was back in October 2013. She has survived so much and still has a long way to go. But thanks to FODA and her foster parents Chrissy and Aaron, she is living the safe, secure and happy life that she so richly deserves. She is going to make some lucky forever family very happy!

To Anonymous who thinks that he/she knows the difference between a bait dog and a fighting dog……Regardless of why you made the decision to share the opinion that you think you can distinguish between dogs used for fighting, why don’t you donate to THIS dog’s ongoing care and medical expenses to show some support for her future? Lend your expertise where it really counts-in dollars and cents to save this dog.